A Tehama County man has been arrested for allegedly bringing his 10-year-old daughter to Oakland where he allowed her to be drugged and used in pornographic movies, police said yesterday.
The movie maker has also been arrested and both men are under investigation in Tehama and Butte counties for additional allegations of using children in pornographic movies and pictures, police said.
In custody in Tehama County for one count of allowing a minor to be used for child pornography is the girl's father, Darwin Burns, 39.
Burns was arrested Saturday and the girl was taken into protective custody after police from Oakland and Tehama County searched the shack they shared in rural Cohassel.
Oakland Vice Squad Officer Bill Grijalva said yesterday the shack had no plumbing or electricity and that Burns was a welfare recipient.
The suspected movie maker, Kevin B. Miller, 26 was arrested Nov. 17 in his room at the hotel on 17th Street in downtown, less than two blocks from City Hall.
Grijalva said police seized from the hotel room homemade pornographic movies portraying the 10-year-old both alone and with Miller. They also seized thousands of dollars worth of video equipment.
Miller, a disabled Navy veteran, has been charged with four counts of lewd acts with a child, two counts of oral copulation with a foreign object. He has also been charged with one count each of using a child under the age of 14 for pornography, providing pornography for a minor and furnishing marijuana to a minor and is being held in lieu of $54,000 bail.
Miller, who police said allegedly became involved in the movie-making for sexual gratification, is scheduled to enter a plea Dec 18 in Oakland Municipal Court.
Grijalva, who worked the case with Officer Mike Frazier of the Youth Services Division, said Miller and Burns met each other a few months ago at a birthday party in Berkeley for a mutual friend's daughter.
Miller was videotaping the party and Burns wanted him to film his daughter, Grijalva said, adding that Burns did not object to his daughter being filmed in the nude.
The first time Eastbay police became aware of any possible wrongdoing was Sept 28, Grijalva said, when Miller was arrested by University of California police at Sproul Plaza.
Grijalva said Miller was roller-skating on the campus and had rigged a video camera on a tripod so that he could film underneath coed's dresses. Since no coeds would prosecute, charges were never filed, police said.
On Oct. 10 police saw the 10-year-old with Miller on campus and detained him until they could find out more about the girl, Grijalva said. Miller told them he was watching the girl while her father watched movies at Miller's Oakland hotel.
After confirming the story with Burns, police let Miller go and returned the girl to her father, Grijalva said.
But University of California police made a report of the incident, including the girl's statement to them that she was filmed by Miller, both clothed and once "when she said he left the camera on by mistake while she was changing," Grijalva said.
Grijalva and Frazier then began their investigations; Grijalva on the pornography phase and Frazier for possible child abuse.
In the course of their investigation the officers learned that Burns has a child molesting conviction out of Oregon and was being investigated by the other two counties. He allegedly was photographing friends' children in the nude, police said, and apparently selling the pictures in foreign countries.
Miller was in the area at least once, Grijalva said, filming Burns' daughter there and possibly other children.
Enough evidence was obtained for a search warrant for Miller's hotel room to be issued Nov. 17 and he was arrested.
Grijalva said Miller admitted filming the 10-year-old in the nude on Oct. 10, but would not admit molesting her.
Grijalva said Burns has admitted allowing his daughter to be filmed in the nude because he said, "he is a nudist and so is his daughter."
Grijalva said Burns also admitted photographing and touching young girls from the Chico area but said it was only "sensually, not sexually."
The last I heard anything about Darwin (Don) Burns he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. I don't know if he's still wanted, if he's in jail or if he's hanging out at some nudist camp.
Burns is a dedicated nudist and frequent visitor of nudist environments. According to police, he is believed to have accompanied Tim Wilcox to Sequoians Family Nudist Camp on one or more occasions.
If anyone knows of his where abouts, or has any information, contact your local law enforcement agency immediately. --Nikki Craft